PARRISH, Fla. — Some Manatee County residents are asking local leaders to do more when it comes to clearing dust and dirt from the air.

These people live near construction sites and say the projects are impacting the air quality.

Residents say there needs to be more help to prevent this from happening in the future, including Jodi Tluczek, who finds peace when she’s around her two miniature horses, “Mini Mouse” and “Baby Yoda,” that live at her home in Parrish.

“I got them right after my dad passed away, and they have just been such a calming force for me,” she said. “(I’m) really just trying to give them the best home.”

It’s that love that has given Tluczek strength over the past two years, but it hasn’t been easy.

“When we get the sandstorms, redness and itching, and I know it’s not good on their respiratory system,” she said.

That “sandstorm” she’s referring to isn’t actually a sandstorm, but a mix of what she describes as dirt and dust in the air. It’s not only affecting her family but also her animals.

She says the issue started a year ago, but became more of a problem this month, saying it comes from the development across the street 

“When the wind picks up, it’s a lot worse. There are times that it’s hard to breathe. I’m out here working with the mask on. It’s just been hard. It’s really hard because everything is covered with a layer of dirt,” Tluczek said.

It got so bad that the county even had to step in last week when leaders put a pause on all work to help with dust mitigation for three days.

“While achieving zero dust leaving a construction site is not possible, especially in the conditions we observed, the amount of dust control provided was unacceptable in several examples,” said a Manatee County spokesperson. “Manatee County worked with contractors to effectively control dust before any other work was allowed to commence on their sites. Staff will be making a presentation to the BOCC (Tuesday) to investigate additional ways to ensure compliance with dust regulations.”

Some of those residents complaining about dust in Manatee County live by developments that are being constructed by Lennar and D.R. Horton’s construction companies.

On March 24, Spectrum News received a statement from D.R. Horton:

“There are multiple homebuilders and land developers constructing new home developments in Parrish near the Foxbrook community. Lots in the Rye Ranch community are being developed by a third-party developer and sold to D.R. Horton for home construction. D.R. Horton and our third-party developers establish stormwater pollution prevention plans and follow the recommendations and best practices established by the EPA on dust control when developing land and constructing homes.”

Lennar has not sent a statement on the issue.

Tluczek says the dust is so bad, she may soon have to make a tough decision when it comes to her miniature horses.

“I thought about re-homing them because… how long is this going to continue? How long will they have to deal with the dust and the soot and all of it?” she said.

Tluczek is hoping local leaders can come up with a long-term solution for not only herself and her animals but her neighbors as well.

According to county officials, there will be a presentation at Tuesday’s commission meeting to investigate additional ways to ensure compliance with dust regulations.